Injury Notes: Pollock, La Stella, Sanchez, Borucki, Pearson
A.J. Pollock left today’s game with what the White Sox announced as right hamstring tightness. Pollock had just singled, but seemed to tweak his hamstring while making the turn around first base, and had to be replaced for a pinch-runner. While Pollock’s lengthy injury history (including a right hamstring strain that sidelined him for over two weeks last September) gives particular concern to any new issues, Pollock told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters after the game that today’s injury wasn’t nearly as severe as last season’s hamstring problem.
As it happens, Pollock was already set to miss some time. The outfielder and his wife are expecting their second child, and Pollock was scheduled to go on paternity leave tomorrow. He’ll use the absence to rest his hamstring and hopefully avoid become the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list. Garrett Crochet has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while the 10-day IL features Lance Lynn, Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly, Yermin Mercedes, and Ryan Burr, plus Lucas Giolito is now also set to miss at least his next two starts.
More injury updates from around baseball…
- There is “no set in stone timeline at this point” for when Tommy La Stella might return from the injured list, Giants manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters. La Stella underwent Achilles surgery in October and is still feeling some soreness, though he told media that doctors have said this isn’t unusual. Despite the lack of clarity, the Giants did consider using La Stella as a DH to begin the season, so it would seem like he is relatively close to playing. “It was just one of those things where we wanted to make sure that we weren’t sacrificing the long-term success in this process for short-term gains now and make sure I’m set up to be good to go for the rest of the season,” La Stella said.
- Anibal Sanchez could miss his scheduled start Monday, as the Nationals right-hander has been dealing with neck soreness. The Nats already pushed Sanchez’s start back to give him time to heal, but as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, the club now may need to turn to either the bullpen, or possibly a minor league call-up like Josh Rogers or Aaron Sanchez to take the start. In Aaron Sanchez’s case, the Nationals would have to first clear a 40-man roster spot to select his minor league contract.
- Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo updated reporters (including TSN’s Scott Mitchell) about sidelined pitchers Ryan Borucki and Nate Pearson. Borucki is on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, but came out of a two-inning simulated game feeling well. Pearson is set to start light throwing after missing time due to mononucleosis, but because Pearson missed a significant portion of Spring Training, Mitchell writes that the right-hander is “essentially starting from scratch” from a preparation standpoint. As such, it might not be until at least mid-May that Pearson is fully ramped up.
Rockies Hire Todd Helton As Special Assistant
The Rockies announced that franchise legend Todd Helton has been hired as a special assistant to GM Bill Schmidt. According to Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette (Twitter links), Helton’s primary responsibility will be working with minor league players, and Allentuck notes that Helton has already been working with prospect Michael Toglia (Colorado’s first-round pick from 2019) during Spring Training.
Helton spent all 17 of his Major League seasons with the Rockies, and is the team’s all-time leader in multiple major categories, including games, plate appearances, home runs, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, walks, total bases, and bWAR. The first baseman hit .316/.414/.539 with 369 homers over his 9453 big league PA, with a resume that includes five All-Star appearances, four Silver Slugger awards, and three Gold Gloves. It seems as though Helton will one day be wearing a Colorado cap into Cooperstown, as his vote total has been steadily climbing through four years on the writers’ ballot — Helton received 52% of the vote this past winter, up from 44.9% in 2021, 29.2% in 2020, and 16.5% in 2019.
Special assistant duties tend to vary greatly from person to person and from team to team, with the duties generally tailored towards the specialties of the individual. In Helton’s case, he “will essentially be a roaming coach,” Allentuck writes, as Helton had expressed an interest in taking on more of a role with his old organization.
Yankees Outright Jeisson Rosario To Double-A
TODAY: Rosario has cleared DFA waivers and been outrighted to Double-A, the Yankees announced.
APRIL 7: The Yankees announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Jeisson Rosario for assignment and formally selected the contract of veteran utilityman Marwin Gonzalez.
Rosario, 22, was claimed off waivers from the archrival Red Sox last month. He’s yet to make his big league debut or even take a plate appearance at the Triple-A level. Rosario spent the 2021 season with Boston’s Double-A affiliate and slashed .232/.335/.307 with three homers, 15 doubles, a triple and a 12.3% walk rate against a concerning 27.9% strikeout rate.
Acquired from the Padres in the trade that sent Mitch Moreland to San Diego, Rosario draws praise from scouts for his speed, plate discipline and defense in center field. Most scouting reports raise concerns about his hit tool, and his performance thus far in his minor league career has indeed reflected those red flags. Rosario could yet develop into at least a quality bench piece whose game is centered around value with the glove and on the bases, but he’ll need a good bit more refinement in the upper minors before that happens. The Yankees will have a week to trade Rosario or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
The Yankees also announced Thursday morning that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right oblique. It’s not an unexpected move, as Rortvedt has been ailing for some time now. Acquired in the trade that brought Josh Donaldson to the Bronx and sent Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez to Minnesota, Rortvedt is a glove-first backstop who’ll give the Yankees a backup option to Kyle Higashioka. New York more recently acquired another defensive-minded catcher, Jose Trevino, in a trade with the Rangers. Given Rortvedt’s injury, Higashioka and Trevino will be the two catchers on the Yankees’ Opening Day roster.
Mariners Sign Daniel Ponce De Leon
The Mariners have signed right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon, according to Tacoma Rainiers announcer Mike Curto (Twitter link). Ponce de Leon will take the hill immediately for Triple-A Tacoma, scheduled to start today in the second game of a doubleheader.
The Angels inked Ponce de Leon to a minors contract during the lockout but released him earlier this week. The righty didn’t get a long look in official Cactus League action, as Ponce de Leon pitched just two innings in a single Spring Training game. It marks the second time in less than seven months that Ponce de Leon has been released, after the Cardinals cut him shortly before the end of the 2021 season.
Today’s start for the Rainiers will mark Ponce de Leon’s first official pro game outside of the St. Louis organization. The Cards selected de Leon in the ninth round of the 2014 draft, and he has appeared in the majors in each of the last four seasons working in a swingman capacity. With 22 starts in 57 career MLB games, Ponce de Leon has a 4.33 ERA and 23.9% strikeout rate over 147 2/3 innings in The Show, but his biggest issue has been a lack of control. Ponce de Leon has a 12.7% walk rate in the majors, and his walks have also been on the rise even in the minors over the last few seasons.
The 2021 season saw Ponce de Leon miss about two months due to two separate shoulder-related IL stints, and he posted a 6.21 ERA over 33 1/3 frames for the Cardinals. With his walk total (22) almost matching his strikeouts (24), Ponce de Leon became an expendable piece for the Cards. He’ll now look to catch on with the Mariners, providing some rotation or long relief depth at the Triple-A level.
Pirates Recall Roansy Contreras
TODAY: The Pirates officially called up Contreras prior to today’s game, while Underwood was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.
APRIL 8: The Pirates are planning to recall pitching prospect Roansy Contreras, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Reliever Duane Underwood Jr. left yesterday’s game against the Cardinals with right hamstring discomfort, and the Bucs are opting to add another arm to the staff. Contreras is already on the Pittsburgh 40-man roster.
Contreras is among the most promising pitchers in the Pittsburgh farm system. Acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon deal last winter, the righty broke out with an excellent first season with the Bucs. While he missed some time with a forearm issue, Contreras made 12 Double-A starts and pitched to a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native punched out a stellar 34.9% of batters faced against a 5.5% walk rate, earning a bump to Triple-A and then the majors late in the year.
Along the way, the 22-year-old impressed evaluators. Each of Baseball America, FanGraphs, The Athletic and ESPN slotted Contreras among the game’s top 100 prospects this winter, with FanGraphs placing him inside their top 50. He draws praise for a fastball that averaged north of 96 MPH in his big league debut, as well as a pair of breaking balls with decent control. FanGraphs suggests he could soon develop into a mid-rotation starter.
It’s not clear how the Bucs will use Contreras, or if this latest promotion is for good. He’s in his second of three minor league option years, and Pittsburgh could send him back to Triple-A Indianapolis in short order. The Pirates drew some criticism for optioning top shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz to start the season. Like Cruz, Contreras picked up two days of big league service time last year but has extremely little experience at the minors’ top level.
Looking At The Early Results Of The Prospect Promotion Incentive
In recent years, a major source of contention between MLB teams and players has been service time manipulation. In baseball, each day spent on the active roster is counted towards a player’s service time. The Major League Baseball season is typically 186 days long and a “full year” of service time is defined as 172 days. A player kept in the minors for a few weeks to start the season cannot accrue a full year of service time, thus delaying his free agency by an extra year. The most egregious and frequently cited example of this is Kris Bryant. Despite being considered one of the best, if not the very best, prospects in baseball, he wasn’t called up to start the 2015 season. That year, he spent 171 days on the roster, falling exactly one day short of a full year, which allowed the Cubs to control him through the 2021 season, instead of 2020.
Bryant was just one of many examples around the league, with service time manipulation becoming one of many issues that had eroded the trust between the league and the players, making the most recent lockout so prolonged and contentious. In an attempt to improve the situation going forward, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement features a provision that will potentially reward teams for promoting prospects for the full year. Under the Prospect Promotion Incentive, teams can earn an extra pick in the draft if a rookie-eligible player with 60 days or fewer of major league service who is included on a preseason top 100 prospect list by two or more of Baseball America, ESPN.com or MLB.com is promoted and finishes high in award voting in any year before he is eligible for arbitration. A Rookie of the Year win or a top three finish in MVP or Cy Young voting in his pre-arbitration seasons would net the team that extra draft pick. If the international draft is implemented, he could earn the club a selection if second or third in Rookie of the Year, or fourth or fifth in Cy Young. A team can gain at most one PPI pick in the amateur draft and three total PPI picks for any individual prospect, two international and one amateur, with a max of one such pick per year. (Further details about the incentive are laid out by Evan Drellich of The Athletic.)
This year, it has certainly felt like more top prospects were cracking Opening Day rosters, with Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez and Spencer Torkelson being some of the high profile examples. Matt Eddy of Baseball America took a look at the data from this year and compared it to previous years to see if any meaningful conclusions could be drawn. Ten of BA’s top 100 prospects made Opening Day rosters this year, which is the second-largest such number in their data set, which goes back to 1990. (The piece points out that Riley Greene could have made it 11 if he hadn’t got injured, and the same could possibly be said of Adley Rutschman as well.) The only year with a larger crop was 1995, where 12 guys made the cut. As pointed out in the piece, the 1995 season followed the extended layoff of the strike that began in August of 1994. Presumably, that would have delayed the debut of any prospect that was on the cusp of debuting in August or September of ’94 until the start of the ’95 season, artificially inflating that number. Therefore, it can be argued that this year’s group of rookies is the largest in the past 33 years.
Of course, this is just a single year of data and it would be unwise to draw far-reaching conclusions from it. However, another reason for optimism in the piece is that the trend in recent years had been for fewer prospects to crack the Opening Day rosters. Eddy breaks the recent past into five year buckets and looks at how many top prospects played in the first week of a season. From 1995-99, there were 35, followed by 26 in 2000-2004, then 22 in 2005-2009, 16 in 2010-2014 and just 14 from 2015-2019. “The number of qualifying prospects has declined by 60% in the past 20 years,” Eddy says. Now there are ten in just this year alone, eleven if we add in Roansy Contreras, who was recalled today after Duane Underwood Jr. was injured in the team’s first game. (The Pirates, incidentally, were the one team who appeared to still be trying to play the service time manipulation game, with both Contreras and Oneil Cruz being left off the team’s Opening Day roster, despite both getting brief MLB experience last year.)
It’s worth reiterating that this is just a single year of data and it can’t be hastily assumed that the new CBA has improved the situation. It’s entirely possible that this was just an incredibly strong class of prospects that would have bucked the trend with or without the changes to the CBA. However, it’s at least encouraging for those fans that want the best baseball players to be playing in the majors as soon as they are deserving that the trend has indeed been bucked for this year.
Rangers To Place Jon Gray On IL With Blister
Jon Gray developed a blister in last night’s season opening game against the Blue Jays. Though he initially said he expected to make his next start, the club will be placing him on the IL. Spencer Patton will be recalled to take his place on the roster. (Twitter links from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News)
Gray was signed in the offseason to a four-year, $56MM deal to front a rotation that was otherwise composed of younger and less-experienced arms. Although this set back is unfortunate news for Rangers fans, there doesn’t seem to be much need for panic. As noted by Grant, the club has a few off-days coming up (on April 13th and 18th), meaning they won’t need a fifth starter until April 23rd, two weeks from now. After the shortened Spring Training following the lockout, certain rules have been changed for the start of the season. While the minimum length of stay on the injured list for pitchers and two-way players is increasing to 15 days this season, that won’t go into effect until May 2. From April 7 through May 1, pitchers and two-way players can be placed on the 10-day injured list. This move seems to merely be a precautionary one, using the gaps in the schedule and the temporary rule change as a way to make sure Gray can quickly heal up before the six-month grind that lies ahead.
Dane Dunning is on the hill today and will take up one rotation spot. Martin Perez, who was also signed in the offseason to add some veteran presence, should have another. Taylor Hearn and Spencer Howard should have the final two slots.
As for Patton, the 34-year-old returned to MLB last year after a four-year stint in Japan. In 42 1/3 innings for the Rangers last year, he put up an ERA of 3.83 with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate.
Phillies To Sign Roman Quinn To Minor League Deal
The Phillies are set to bring Roman Quinn back into the fold on a minor league deal, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.
Quinn was drafted by the Phillies back in 2011 and spent a decade with the organization. He was long viewed as an important prospect for the Phils, cracking Baseball America’s list of the team’s best prospects in seven straight years from 2012 to 2018. However, part of the reason he was on those lists for so long is because injuries kept him from playing enough to exhaust his prospect status. Despite appearing in five different MLB seasons, he’s still only played 178 games in his career and never more than 50 in any individual season.
Now 28 years old, 29 next month, Quinn is still viewed favorably for his speed and defense, as he always has been. The problem thus far, besides the injury issue, has been his bat. He’s only a .228/.306/.355 hitter in his MLB career, a line that amounts to a 78 wRC+. Though he does have 39 steals in that time. Last year, his season was shut down in June due to surgery on his left Achilles.
Quinn was eligible for arbitration for the first time after finally reaching three years of service time last year, but Philly designated him for assignment in November. He was signed by the Marlins to a minor league deal but didn’t crack the roster out of spring and was released.
For the Phillies, this deal is a no-risk way of bolstering their outfield depth, which has taken some hits in recent weeks, particularly in center. Odubel Herrera landed on the IL with a strained oblique. Adam Haseley was somewhat surprisingly dealt to the White Sox, with the club hoping to lean on a platoon of Matt Vierling and Mickey Moniak in center. However, Moniak hit the IL yesterday with a fracture in his right hand, further depleting their depth up the middle.
Lucas Giolito To Be Placed On IL, Miss At Least Two Starts
The White Sox rotation was already down a man with last week’s announcement that Lance Lynn would be undergoing knee surgery. Now it seems it has been dealt another unfortunate blow, as manager Tony La Russa says Lucas Giolito will be heading to the IL, with missing two starts being the optimistic outcome, per James Fegan of The Athletic.
Giolito started last night’s season opener but left after four innings after experiencing abdominal tightness. While the long-term outlook is still unclear at this point, the fact that two starts is described as the “optimistic” downtime suggests that it’s likely to be longer than that. Giolito told reporters that the injury was a “random and freak thing” but not related to his oblique. (Twitter links from Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times)
Regardless of how long he is out, it’s bad news for the White Sox, as Giolito has established himself as one of the better starters in the game. Last year, he threw 178 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.53, 27.9% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate, coming in 11th in AL Cy Young voting. With Lynn and Giolito now both on the shelf, the projected rotation is down to Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech. There were already question marks around some of those names, as Kopech has only thrown 69 1/3 total innings over the past three years, due to Tommy John surgery and opting out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Keuchel is coming off a down year where he put up a 5.28 ERA.
Due to those concerns, the club bolstered their depth by signing Vince Velasquez. Although initially projected to be in the bullpen as a long man, these injuries have quickly thrust him into the rotation. He will start Tuesday’s home opener for the club, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Velasquez has always provided intriguing results based on his strikeouts (25.4% career rate) but a propensity for long balls has pushed his ERA to 4.95 for his career and 6.30 last year.
That still leaves one spot available in the rotation. Reynaldo Lopez started nine games for the club last year and could be an option, though La Russa says that they will wait and see if he’s needed out of the bullpen in the coming days before making a decision on that, per Fegan. Going outside the box, Tanner Banks, who just cracked a major league roster for the first time at the age of 30, is another possible option. (Per Schouwen) Banks only started five out of his 25 appearances in Triple-A in 2021 and never logged more than four innings in any outing last year.
There’s plenty still up in the air here, but it’s still certainly concerning for the Sox and their fans. The bullpen had also been dented recently by the trade of Craig Kimbrel and the announcement that Garrett Crochet will need Tommy John surgery. The pitching staff will now have to weather yet another notable absence. Johnny Cueto was recently signed to a minor league deal, but he only just arrived at the club’s spring facility in Arizona yesterday, per Fegan. He’ll need to get ramped up at extended Spring Training and maybe pitch in the minors before he’ll be ready to help the big league team.
Elsewhere on the squad, A.J. Pollock will be departing from the team after Sunday’s game for paternity leave, per Merkin. La Russa says that Andrew Vaughn will get increased playing time in Pollock’s absence, per Fegan.
Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles’ rebuild continues to slouch forward. But with their best prospects on the cusp of breaking the majors, perhaps they’re about to turn a corner.
Major League Signings
- Jordan Lyles, SP: one-year, $7MM plus club option for 2023
- Robinson Chirinos, C, one-year, $900K plus incentives
- Rougned Odor, 2B: one-year, $700K (Rangers paying the remainder of the $12.3MM remaining on his contract)
- Total spend: $8.6MM
Options Exercised
- None
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RP Bryan Baker off waivers from Blue Jays
- Claimed IF Lucius Fox off waivers from Royals; later lost on waivers to Nationals
- Claimed RP Cionel Perez off waivers from Reds
- Acquired prospects Antonio Velez, Kevin Guerrero, PTBNL and draft pick from Marlins for RP Tanner Scott and RP Cole Sulser
Notable Minor League Signings
- Rico Garcia, Spenser Watkins, Marcos Diplan, Jacob Nottingham, Anthony Bemboom, Shed Long, Andres Angulo, Wes Robertson, Buddy Baumann, Conner Greene, Chris Owings, Chris Ellis, Beau Taylor, Matt Harvey
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser, Pedro Severino, Fernando Abad, Maikel Franco, Pat Valaika, Austin Wynns, Thomas Eshelman, Eric Hanhold, Hunter Harvey, Nick Ciuffo, Brooks Kriske
The biggest headlines surrounding the Orioles this season involved things that didn’t end up happening. John Means had his name come up in trade talks, though a deal never materialized. Cedric Mullins was a popular target for teams around the league, though he is also still in Baltimore. Ditto for Austin Hays and Trey Mancini. As the offseason wore on and Carlos Correa lingered on the open market, it was suggested by some that the Orioles could be dark horse candidate to sign him, due both to their lack of spending commitments and the connection with GM Mike Elias. While with Houston, Elias was reportedly the one who convinced the rest of the Astros’ front office that they should take Correa with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft. As fun as that would have been, that also didn’t happen.
In the early portion of the offseason, the club made a handful of waiver claims and minor league deals. Just on the verge of the lockout, in late November, they signed Rougned Odor to a major league deal. With Odor still being paid by the Rangers as part of the extension he signed in 2017, the Orioles were able to bring him aboard at the league minimum rate. He hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 100 since 2016, but there’s virtually no risk for the O’s to give him a shot and see if he can turn himself into a valuable trade chip for them.
On December 1st, with just a few hours to go until the lockout was set to begin, it was announced that Baltimore had agreed to sign Jordan Lyles to a one-year, $7MM guarantee. (It wouldn’t be made official until after the lockout.) This would go on to be the biggest move of their offseason. In fact, this is the largest contract handed out by Elias since he was hired as the GM in 2018. It seems the M.O. is to focus on the youth pipeline until it’s fully connected to the majors, with little concern given to the short-term competitiveness or watchability of the big league team. Spend as little as possible and wait for the kids to arrive.
In other offseason news, it was announced in January that the dimensions of Oriole Park at Camden Yards would be changing, with the left field fences being both pushed back and elevated. This is an attempt to curtail the extreme homer-friendly nature of the park, which has allowed the most dingers in the league since it opened in 1992. Elias later admitted that the club also hopes this will help them lure free agent pitchers to Baltimore in future seasons.
After the lockout, the Lyles deal was made official and the O’s also signed Robinson Chirinos. At the time, the 37-year-old was the only catcher on the 40-man roster but was still expected to be the backup to top prospect Adley Rutschman. But Chirinos will become the starting catcher for now, as Rutschman was later shut down with a triceps strain that’s expected to keep him out of action until mid-April. Anthony Bemboom was upgraded from depth option to big league backup.
As the calendar flipped to April, Tanner Scott and Cole Sulser were sent to Miami. In exchange, Baltimore received a couple of prospects, a player to be named later and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B in the upcoming draft, yet another move dedicated towards building the team of the future. After that, Chris Owings had his contract selected. He had a .326/.420/.628 line with the Rockies last year before a broken thumb curtailed the remainder of his season. He can act as a veteran utility man and perhaps turn into a trade chip if he can hit at anywhere near last year’s pace.
That’s surely what Orioles fans will be focused on, the future, for the present and the recent past provide little to feel good about. Baltimore has finished last in the AL East in four out of the last five seasons, with the only exception being the shortened 2020 campaign when the Red Sox burrowed beneath them. Five years of almost constant basement dwelling seem almost certainly to carry forward into a sixth, as Baltimore’s four division mates are all projected to be quite strong yet again, on the heels of each winning at least 91 games last year.
When it comes to the future, though, there’s plenty to be excited about. Baseball America’s most recent Organization Talent Rankings placed the Orioles system fourth on the list, with many of the club’s top prospects nearing their MLB debuts. Rutschman, considered by many to be the best prospect in the game right now, seemed like he had a chance to crack the Opening Day roster before the unfortunate injury news. That will push his debut down the road but hopefully not for too long. Grayson Rodriguez will start this year in Triple-A, meaning he could push for a roster spot soon. D.L. Hall and Gunnar Henderson will be just behind in Double-A.
The path out of the bottom of the AL East will be steep, but with an impressive collection of prospects about to join the squad, it’s possible that this is the year where it actually feels like the Orioles are climbing. Though they haven’t spent any money in recent years, that also means they have a wide open future payroll. Just about everything comes off the books this year, including the ill-fated Chris Davis contract. Though 2022 is likely to be another dreadful year, it should only get better from here.